Ten Families Become Homeowners with Help from Federal and Provincial Governments and Habitat for Humanity

Today, Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, on behalf of Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), and Social Services Minister and Minister Responsible for Saskatchewan Housing Corporation (SHC) Paul Merriman, City of Regina Mayor Michael Fougere and Habitat for Humanity Regina Chief Executive Officer Kelly Holmes-Binns, officially opened 10 new homes in Phase II of Habitat for Humanity’s (Habitat) Haultain Crossing project in Regina.

“Our government is dedicated to working in partnership with organizations like Habitat to build the sort of safe, appropriate, affordable housing necessary for healthy, sustainable communities,” said Goodale. “The investments in these new homes will make a real difference in the lives of these 10 families, yet another remarkable milestone for this project.”

“Our government is pleased to support the work of Habitat for Humanity,” Merriman said. “We share their vision of turning caring into doing, and making a difference in the lives of Saskatchewan people in need of a safe, comfortable and affordable home. Upon completion of the Haultain Crossing project, 62 more families will realize their homeownership dreams.”

“Haultain Crossing is an incredible project that really is creating an entirely new dynamic in the Eastview neighbourhood,” Fougere said. “Our city will be made stronger with 62 families putting in the work to build and own their own home, taking pride in their neighbourhood and securing their future. City council is proud to be able to support Habitat for Humanity.”

“Today is a milestone day,” Holmes-Binns said. “The completion of 10 more homes brings the total number of families living at Haultain Crossing to 24. We are also celebrating the completion of our 100th home, and once again bringing together donors and sponsors, both corporate and individual, to celebrate this great achievement. We are very proud to be building the largest Habitat development in Saskatchewan. Sixty-two homes will eventually complete our project here at Haultain Crossing, which is a major contribution to the ongoing need in our community for affordable housing. To be able to offer homeownership as an option is truly transformational.”

Quick facts:

Located at 1033 Edgar Street, the 10 units are part of Haultain Crossing, Habitat’s multi-unit family housing development which will be home to a total of 62 Habitat partner families upon completion.

Haultain Crossing will contain 62 townhouse-style condominiums. Together, the main and upper floors of each home will total 1,216 square feet or 113 square metres.

The Government of Canada, through CMHC, along with the Government of Saskatchewan, through SHC, jointly contributed close to $555,000 to build these homes through the Investment in Affordable Housing Agreement.

The City of Regina has provided funding of $15,000 for each of these 10 homes for a total of $150,000.

One unit will receive funding from the ‘Square Foot for Habitat’ initiative. This is a Habitat Regina-led Checkout for Charity fundraiser running at local Regina businesses from September 5 to November 30 where customers can make a donation to Habitat when making purchases.

One unit is a Habitat partnership with TASCAP. TASCAP engages and trains high school students in a variety of construction trade areas. This is real life education for students who are on site daily for an entire semester during the construction of the home.

The province’s overall commitment to Habitat for Humanity totals $9.8 million since March 2009. Of this amount, the federal and provincial governments have invested $2 million, thanks to the Social Infrastructure Fund, under the two most recent agreements between Saskatchewan and Habitat for Humanity.

This investment also supports Saskatchewan’s Poverty Reduction Strategy goal of ensuring Saskatchewan people have access to affordable, safe, secure and stable housing.

Each partner family selected by Habitat for Humanity contributes 500 partnering hours in building their home or other Habitat homes. The family purchases their home at fair market value, paying an interest-free, zero down-payment mortgage set at 25 per cent of their annual gross income. To learn more about Habitat for Humanity and their work across Saskatchewan, visit www.habitat.ca.

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As Canada's authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers unbiased housing research and advice to all levels of Canadian government, consumers and the housing industry. For more information, please call 1-800-668-2642 or follow us on Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook.

In October 2012, the Government of Saskatchewan released the Saskatchewan Plan for Growth: Vision 2020 and Beyond, which sets out the government’s vision for a province of 1.2 million people by 2020. The plan identifies principles, goals and actions to ensure Saskatchewan is capturing the opportunities and meeting the challenges of a growing province. Since 2007, the Government of Saskatchewan has invested more than $770 million to develop or repair almost 16,000 housing units across our province. To learn more, visit www.saskatchewan.ca.

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